Sir C.V. Raman was an Indian physicist who won the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics for his groundbreaking work on the scattering of light and discovery of the Raman Effect. He was born in India in 1888 and showed great academic aptitude from a young age, obtaining several advanced degrees before age 18. Raman conducted research on light scattering both during his career as an assistant accountant general and later as a physics professor. His discovery of new spectral lines when light interacts with matter, which came to be known as the Raman Effect, provided insights into molecular structure. Raman made many other contributions and established the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore before passing away in 1970.

1. C.V. RAMAN
“The Great Indian
Physicist”

2. Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata
Raman, FRS was an
Indian physicist whose
ground breaking work in
the field of light scattering
earned him the 1930 Nobel
Prize for Physics.

3. Venkata Raman Was Born
In Thiruvanaikaval, Trichinopoly,
Present-day Tiruchirapalli, Madras
Presidency, In British India To
Parvati Ammal (Saptarshi Parvati)
And R. Chandrasekhara Ayer.
He Was The Second Of Their
Eight Children.

4. “EARLY LIFE & CAREER”
 2nd in eight children (5 sons and 3 daughters)
 Father was a teacher in a school, later moved to
Visakhapatnam to be a lecturer in Mathematics and Physics in
the Mrs. AVN College when Raman was 3, with a salary of Rs
85/- per month
 Matriculated at 11, FA at 13, BA at 15 from the Presidency
College in Chennai (Gold medal in English and Physics) and
MA at 18 (exempted from attending all classes of science)

5.  First research paper at the age of 16 in The Philosophical
Magazine (London) on diffraction of light from prism, and
another on measurement of surface tension (communicated by
author himself, with no acknowledgements!)
 Topped Civil Services exam (Finance Dept)- “I shall ever be
grateful to the Civil Surgeon of Madras”
 In 1907, at 18 ½ married Lokasundari and then joined as Asst
Accountant General in the Finance Dept, Kolkata
 Very much occupied due to the job, he still managed to spare
his evenings for scientific research at the laboratory of the
Indian Association for Cultivation of Sciences. On certain
occasions, he even spent the entire nights. Such was his
passion that in 1917, he resigned from the position to become
the Professor of Physics at Calcutta University.

6. CONTRIBUTIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
 On a sea voyage to Europe in 1921, Raman curiously noticed the
blue colour of the glaciers and the Mediterranean. He was
passionate to discover the reason of the blue colour.
 Once Raman returned to India, he performed many experiments
regarding the scattering of light from water and transparent
blocks of ice. According to the results, he established the
scientific explanation for the blue colour of sea-water and sky.
There is a captivating event that served as the inspiration for the
discovery of the Raman Effect.
 Raman employed monochromatic light from a mercury arc which
penetrated transparent materials and was allowed to fall on a
spectrograph to record its spectrum.
 During this, Raman detected some new lines in the spectrum
which were later called ‘Raman Lines’.

7.  After a few months, Raman put forward his discovery of
‘Raman Effect’ in a meeting of scientists at Bangalore on
March 16, 1928, for which he won the Nobel Prize in Physics
in 1930.
 The ‘Raman Effect’ is considered very significant in analyzing the
molecular structure of chemical compounds. After a decade of its
discovery, the structure of about 2000 compounds was studied.
Thanks to the invention of the laser, the ‘Raman Effect’ has
proved to be a very useful tool for scientists.
 Some of Raman’s other interests were the physiology of human
vision, the optics of colloids and the electrical and magnetic
anisotropy.
 Sir C.V. Raman became the Fellow of the Royal Society of
London in 1924.

8. mind = aE
polarizability

9. Selection rule: v = ±1
Overtones: v = ±2, ±3, …
m ( ) a cos 2

 
max 0
  
max max 0
 
max max 0
1
cos 2 ( )
2
1
cos 2 ( )
2
equil
z zz
a
zz
vib
zz
vib
t E t
d
r E t
dr
d
r E t
dr
  
a
  
Must also have a change in polarizability
Classical Description does not suggest any difference
between Stokes and Anti-Stokes intensities
N
h
vib 1
kT 0
e
N




10. lex = 1064 nm = 9399 cm-1
Breathing mode:
9399 – 992 = 8407 cm-1
Stretching mode:
9399 – 3063 = 6336 cm-1

11.  A year later, he set up Raman Research Institute near Bangalore,
where he continued the scientific research until his death which
was caused by a strong heart attack on November 21, 1970.
His Sincere Advice To Aspiring Scientists Was That

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